Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification is one of the most globally recognised and sought-after business accreditations. It combines accounting, finance and management with the leading-edge skills and techniques that drive successful modern businesses. 

81% of BPP students followed our 3 Steps to Success and passed their November 2011 exams.*


*Based on students attending taught, revision and question day courses for Nov 2011 sitting.


Key details:  Dates and prices  |  Ways to study

Key Information

  • Exam-focused learning to maximise your chances of success
  • Full Study Programme – guidance and support right up to your exams
  • Flexible study options – choose from face-to-face, online and distance learning
  • 8 out of 10 of the May 2011 CIMA global prize winners studied with BPP
  • Comprehensive online learning resources and support
  • Dedicated CIMA tutors with course expertise and industry experience
  • Course structure reinforces your learning and builds towards your exam
  • We are globally recognised for our exceptional CIMA pass rates
Book now:
London & Croydon: 020 3131 2751Rest of the UK: 0161 636 3564

Go global with CIMA

The CIMA qualification carries enormous weight in the world of business and finance. It is internationally recognised for its unique focus on the practical side of management and accountancy.

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants is the world’s largest management accountant body. Its members are consistently favoured by top organisations recruiting financially-trained business leaders.

Why study CIMA with BPP?

The BPP CIMA course is designed to give you a real edge in the business world. We’re an Approved CIMA Learning Quality Partner – the highest level of accreditation available.

We advocate a three-phase approach of 'Learn – Practise – Rehearse'. The combination of these three elements makes a marked impact on your exam success. 

In the last five years we’ve produced over 220 global prize winners and commendees within the CIMA qualification – and we consistently achieve pass rates in excess of 75%.

Flexible study options

Our flexible part-time study options mean you can fit your CIMA studies around your work and personal life. Choose from weekday, weekend and evening courses, as well as online and distance learning options. You can choose which CIMA study option is best for you.

Tutor support

If you choose to study on either our face-to-face or online classroom courses you’ll have a dedicated tutor whose primary aim is to help you pass. You’ll be able to contact them for support and feedback, either in the classroom, by email or on the phone.


Dates and prices

Select a location to download date and price details:

Face-to-face:

Online learning:

Distance learning: 

The links and brochures above will open as a PDF in a new window. To save directly to your computer, right-click the link and select 'Save Link As'. You will need the free Adobe Acrobat Reader to open it.















Ways to study

You can study at one of our UK or international centres, in your own time via our Online Classroom, or with our online and paper-based distance learning packages.

Whichever option you choose, we'll keep you focused on what you need to know to pass your exam.

Online Classroom Live – NEW for 2012

The new BPP Online Classroom Live is ideal if you like the discipline and motivation of a structured and timetabled course and can commit to scheduled sessions. Live, interactive sessions are all recorded so you can re-watch any you miss.

You can study online live for Operational and Management papers (taught and revision courses). You will be covered by our Free Pass Assurance* if you book taught and revision courses together.

Face-to-face

This is an ideal solution if you want to study at a steady pace, can commit to specific study times and want the best chance of exam success.

Our expert tutors bring their passion and enthusiasm to the classroom making sessions highly engaging and motivational. You can study weekdays, evenings or weekends. You can also mix and match your sessions, subject to availability.

For Certificate papers we offer a single, integrated course and provide free Pass Assurance.*

At Operational, Management and Strategic level you will study three types of course: Taught, Revision and Question Day.

For T4 we offer a single, integrated course that covers the Case Study Review, an understanding of the marking grid and exam practice.

Online Classroom

A dynamic study experience that combines the flexibility of distance learning with the support of a traditional classroom. Available for all papers, it’s ideal if you can’t commit to fixed study sessions. You also get Free Pass Assurance*. Learn more about BPP Online Classroom.

Self-study

Our Basics packages reflect BPP’s uncompromising quality and expertise whilst offering you very cost-effective ways to study. You can start whenever you want and work at your own pace. Read more about our distance learning options.

*Subject to terms and conditions.









CIMA Resits

Online resit course (all papers)

Price: £130
Start date: 16 January 2012 

Our online resit courses specifically prepare you for the resit exams. As you've already been through exam preparation once, we don't think you need a full classroom course to resit the exam. You'll benefit from:

  • Key knowledge lectures including worked examples 
  • Online walkthroughs of key past questions and answers  
  • Examples of common student pitfalls
  • An analysis of a typical student script  
  • Targeted question practice to improve your exam skills and technical knowledge  
  • Practice Question, marked with detailed feedback on areas for improvement
  • Discussion forum to interact with tutors and fellow retake students  

PC-based Question Days (Strategic Level only)

Price: £150
Start date: See 'Dates and Prices tab'

Sitting an exam standard mock on a PC will boost your confidence ahead of taking your resit exam on PC. The course is based in the classroom and includes a new mock exam with Section A based on M plc. Your mock will be marked and you’ll receive a full debrief from one of our tutors.

Dates for CIMA March 2012 resit exams

PC exams: 

  • E3: 29 February 2012
  • P3: 1 March 2012
  • F3: 2 March 2012

Paper exams:

  • E1: 27 February 2012 (am)
  • F1:  27 February 2012 (pm)
  • P1: 28 February 2012
  • P2: 29 February 2012
  • E2:  1 March 2012
  • F2:  2 March 2012

Strategic level resit exams are taken on a PC, using Word and Excel.  All other exams are paper-based.  Exams are held in BPP centres and we will reserve your exam place when you book your course with us.















Certificate CBAs (2006 Syllabus)

For the 2006 Certificate Syllabus we still offer Computer Based Assessments (CBA). You can book your CBA using the booking options at the top of this page, or contact your local study centre.






















































Certificate Level

The Certificate level is the open entry route to the CIMA qualification. It's comprised of five papers and usually takes six to 12 months to complete. You may be entitled to exemptions from some or all of the papers. 

The Certificate provides you with an introduction to the concept of management accounting and addresses the fundamentals of business and accounting. 

Courses start every month and you can sit your exam whenever you choose. Each paper is tested by a two-hour computer-based assessment, which you can sit at a BPP study centre. 

You can sit the papers in any order but both CIMA and BPP recommend you start with C02, followed by C01, C03, C04 and C05.

How we prepare you for Certificate Level CBAs

  • Integrated approach – practise exam standard questions as you learn each topic, reinforcing your learning as you go
  • Exam focus – see from the beginning how topics are likely to be examined and benefit from course notes written by BPP subject specialists
  • Real-life examples – learn to relate real-life topics to even the most theoretical or technical syllabus content
  • Structured timetable – your study time will be mapped out for you in logical, manageable chunks right through to the exam
  • iPass – boost your revision with an electronic bank of approx 250 questions in a format that replicates your CBA
  • Study text –  full syllabus coverage with comprehensive explanations to contextualise your understanding of key topics
  • Practice and revision kit – zero in on key areas with this huge bank of practice questions.

Free Pass Assurance

If you book a face-to-face or online classroom course you’ll be covered by our Free Pass Assurance. Should you be unsuccessful in your exam BPP will pay up to two resit exam fees (subject to terms and conditions).

Syllabus content

C01 – Fundamentals of Management Accounting 

  • The context of management accounting
  • Cost identification and behaviour
  • Planning within organisations
  • Accounting control systems
  • Decision making 

C02 – Fundamentals of Financial Accounting 

  • Conceptual and regulatory framework
  • Accounting systems
  • Preparation of accounts for single entities
  • Control of accounting systems

C03 – Fundamentals of Business Mathematics

  • Basic mathematics
  • Probability
  • Summarising and analysing data
  • Relationships between variables
  • Forecasting
  • Financial mathematics
  • Spreadsheets 

C04 – Fundamentals of Business Economics

  • The macroeconomic context of business
  • The goals and decisions of organisations
  • The market system and the competitive process
  • The financial system

C05 – Fundamentals of Ethics, Corporate Governance and Business Law

  • Ethics and business
  • Ethical conflict
  • Corporate governance
  • Comparison of English law with alternative legal systems
  • The law of contract 
  • The law of employment
  • Company administration and finance

Operational Level

Operational level is the first professional level of the CIMA qualification. You are advised to sit Operational before moving to Management level. On successful completion of Operational Level you will be awarded the CIMA Diploma in Management Accounting.

You must have completed Certificate Level (or have exemptions) to be eligible to sit Operational Level.

  • E1 – Enterprise Operations: this paper addresses several business functions and will introduce you to the economic, social and political context of international business. 
  • P1– Performance Operations: this paper will introduce you to the tools and techniques that generate information needed to evaluate and control present and projected performance. 
  • F1 – Financial Operations: In Paper F1, you will learn how to prepare full financial statements for a single company and also principal consolidated financial statements for a simple group. 

How we prepare you for Operational Level

Taught courses

Offered face-to-face or online, our taught courses give you the perfect foundation on which to prepare for the exam. 

As well as guiding you through all the key topics for the exam, you make an early start on seeing how different topics are examined, and how you must apply your knowledge to real exam questions.

Revision courses 

Offered face-to-face or online, our revision courses help you to focus on skills and technique and understand what the examiner is asking for. They show you how to structure your answer to get the most marks. 

In recent exam sittings, pass rates have shown that you are up to 30% more likely to pass your exam if you attend a revision course as well as a taught course. 

If you book both a Taught and Revision course you will be covered by our Free Pass Assurance which allows you to book a free course should be you unsuccessful in your exam (subject to our terms and conditions).

Question days

Delivered primarily face-to-face, our question days allow you to rehearse for the big day under exam conditions. Unlike the real exam, you are given detailed 1:1 feedback on your performance and the specific improvement areas for you. 

You can also take a final mock online.

Management Level

Management level is the second level of the CIMA qualification. You must complete this level before moving to Strategic. On successful completion of thid level you'll be awarded the CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting.

The Management level comprises three modules:

  • E2 – Enterprise Management: E2 moves from the emphasis on functional knowledge in Paper E1 towards a holistic and integrated view of management across the organisation and building on important concepts in strategic management.
  • P2 – Performance Management: In P2, you will focus on the application of information in managing processes of decision-making, control and performance optimisation.
  • F2 – Financial Management: F2 extends the scope of Paper F1 where you will move to more advanced topics in financial accounting and developments in external reporting. You will prepare full consolidated financial statements and deal with more complex issues in the principles of accounting standards.

How we prepare you for Management Level

Taught courses

Offered face-to-face or online, our taught courses give you the perfect foundation on which to prepare for the exam. 

As well as guiding you through all the key topics for the exam, you make an early start on seeing how different topics are examined, and how you must apply your knowledge to real exam questions.

Revision courses 

Offered face-to-face or online, our revision courses help you to focus on skills and technique, and understand what the examiner is asking for. They show you how to structure your answer to get the most marks and analyse the preseen case study, with three 50-mark questions based on it. 

In recent exam sittings, pass rates have shown that you are up to 30% more likely to pass your exam if you attend a revision course as well as a taught course. 

If you book both a Taught and Revision course you will be covered by our Free Pass Assurance (subject to terms and conditions).

Question days

Delivered primarily face-to-face, our question days allow you to rehearse for the big day under exam conditions. Unlike the real exam, you are given detailed 1:1 feedback on your performance and the specific improvement areas for you. 

You can also take a final mock online.

Strategic Level

Strategic level is the third level of the CIMA Professional Qualification. You must have completed Management and Operational level (or hold relevant exemptions) before moving to Strategic level.

If you are sitting Strategic level for the first time, you must sit all three examination papers together at the first sitting. At any subsequent attempts, you can take these papers in any order and combination. 

The Strategic level comprises three modules: 

  • E3 – Enterprise Strategy: paper E3 continues with the integration of skills across functions, and focuses on developing the knowledge and skills used in designing and implementing strategy.
  • P3 – Performance Strategy: you will explore two key issues which underpin Paper P3 – what financial and non-financial risks face the organisation and how those risks can be managed and controlled.
  • F3 – Financial Strategy: F3 will introduce you to the key elements in managing the organisation’s financial strategy to achieve its objectives within the external constraints, such as the general regulatory and investment environment.

How we prepare you for Strategic Level

Taught courses

Offered face-to-face or online, our taught courses give you the perfect foundation on which to prepare for the exam. 

As well as guiding you through all the key topics for the exam, you make an early start on seeing how different topics are examined, and how you must apply your knowledge to real exam questions.

Revision courses 

Offered face-to-face or online, our revision courses help you to focus on skills and technique and understand what the examiner is asking for. They show you how to structure your answer to get the most marks. They also help you to analyse the preseen case study and provide you with three 50-mark questions based on it. 

In recent exam sittings, pass rates have shown that you are up to 30% more likely to pass your exam if you attend a revision course as well as a taught course. 

If you book both a Taught and Revision course you will be covered by our Free Pass Assurance which allows you to book a free course should be you unsuccessful in your exam (subject to our terms and conditions).

Question days

Delivered primarily face-to-face, our question days allow you to rehearse for the big day under exam conditions. Unlike the real exam, you are given detailed 1:1 feedback on your performance and the specific improvement areas for you. 

Section A of your mock exam will be a brand new question relating to the real preseen for your exam. You can also take a final mock online.

CIMA T4

T4 s the third and final stage of your CIMA qualification. There’s no new knowledge to learn, it’s all about applying what you have learnt on the preceding papers. 

To be successful, you must be able to:

  • research a new industry in the appropriate level of detail and focus
  • specifically relate the issues being faced by the fictional company with their technical knowledge
  • demonstrate the skills that are demanded in each section of the marking grid
  • produce a professional report in exam conditions that integrates all of the above.

Master CIMA T4 with BPP

Our T4 course is specifically designed to meet this challenge, and offer you full support and guidance in all the key aspects.

It is a fully integrated course – meaning you start to develop the full suite of T4 skills you need from the very start  of your course.

  • Focus on skills and technique – develop an excellent understanding of the marking grid and a disciplined approach to practising exams under exam conditions.
  • Analysis of pre-seen scenario – learn to produce reports that are tailored to the strategic position of the company in question and analyse a range of issues that may arise on exam day.
  • Industry focus – gain the confidence and understanding to write commercially realistic  reports through access to industry expert interviews and regular industry bulletins.
  • Detailed walk-through of a mock exam – benefit from a walk-through of the case study mock exam, demonstrating the best ways of addressing the various elements of the T4 marking grid. 
  • Timed mock exams and tutor debrief – two mocks let you practise and improve your time management skills and get helpful critical analysis of your exam technique.
  • Technical Top Up and Final Mock day courses – these are both available to support and supplement your T4 studies.

Ways to study T4

With BPP you can choose from:

  • Face-to-face: four sittings a year (March, May, September, November)
  • Via BPP Online Classroom: Two sittings a year (May and November)
  • By distance learning: sittings a year (March, May, September, November)

CIMA T4 – Part A

Note that the exam constitutes Part B of the final T4 level. To be fully qualified you must also satisfy CIMA’s requirements for Part A, the Initial professional development and work-based practical experience. Part A involves gaining a minimum of three years' relevant work-based practical experience.

CIMA Gateway

The Gateway programme is a fast-track route onto the Strategic Level of the CIMA Qualification. 

It consists of material from the three Management papers. Successful completion of the exam will give you: 

  • CIMA Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting 
  • 11 exemptions from the CIMA Certificate, Operational and Management level exams. 

This allow you to progress to CIMA’s Strategic level exams, the T4 case study and, ultimately, gain ACMA status. 

Online CIMA Gateway

Our Online Classroom course (OCR) takes just 14 weeks. You'll benefit from:

  • flexibility to fit around your busy schedule
  • structured study guidance from day one right through to the exam
  • a focus on key topics from the Management level of the CIMA Advanced Diploma
  • Gateway-specific practice questions, with access to revision summaries for each of the topics
  • personal feedback on three specifically written Gateway practice questions
  • detailed reviews and walkthroughs of previous Gateway exams
  • a full mock exam written specifically for your course
  • access to specialist tutor support via tutor forums 
  • peer-to-peer interaction and support
  • all documented course materials are available in pdf format online.

Who can apply?

There are three versions of the Gateway, each tailored to meet the needs of the different groups of professional bodies across the world. All three have the same examination:

CIMA Masters Gateway Assessment (CMGA) 

  • Anyone with an MBA (no time limit) 

CIMA Professional Gateway Assessment (CPGA) 

  • Passed finalists and members of ICWAI (Institute of Cost and Works Accountants of India)  
  • Members of ICMAP (Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Pakistan)  
  • Passed finalists and members of ICMAB (Institute of Cost and Management Accountants of Bangladesh) 

CIMA Gateway Assessment (CGA) 

  • Affiliates and members of ACCA (Association of Chartered Certified Accountants)  
  • Passed finalists and members of ICAI (Institute of Chartered Accountants of India)  
  • Members and passed finalists of ICASL (Institute of Chartered Accountants in Sri Lanka)
  • Members of the ICAG (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Ghana)

When you book CIMA Gateway via the BPP course builder, follow the procedure for booking CIMA Management Level.

Free Pass Assurance

With pass rates consistently above the CIMA Global average, we’re proud of the quality of our education and training. But we’re also proud of the peace of mind we offer students with our free Pass Assurance.

BPP’s Pass Assurance will protect you if you fail the exam on your first attempt. The scheme varies depending on how you study, and at what level:

If you are unsuccessful in your CIMA Gateway exam you will be able to take a further OCR course at the next sitting (i.e. within six months). To secure Pass Assurance you will need to submit the three practice questions by the dates specified by your tutor, and achieve a minimum score of 30%.

All levels

Pass Assurance covers the cost of tuition only. Additional BPP Learning Media physical study materials are not included. You will get full online support with updated and refreshed content.

All terms and conditions stated are are subject to BPP's additional Pass Assurance Terms and Conditions.

Additional support

Should you fail your exam after using your Pass Assurance we can still offer you support. Please contact your tutor or call customer services so we can advise you on your next steps.

World-class learning materials

Expertly created by BPP subject specialists, our learning materials focus on the information you need to pass your exam.

Importantly, they:

  • Are thorough are constructive
  • Are clearly written for ease of use and comprehension
  • Will embed your learning effectively
  • Ensure you’re always working with the most up-to-date information
  • Make the most efficient use of your time

Exact learning materials will vary by course and how you study, but they could include exam-focused course notes, Study Texts, Practice and Revision kits and iPass CDs.

They will include both physical* and online elements to give you ultimate flexibility.

*Not applicable for Basics Online

Study locations

Study for the CIMA qualification where and when it suits you. You can attend face-to-face classes the study centres listed below. Each centre offers state-of-the-art facilities and comfortable, high-quality classroom environments.

Remember, if you prefer to study from home or outside the UK, we also offer distance and online learning options.